Machine for finishing and cooling curved stereotype-plates.



I1. PEARCE.

MACHINE FOR FINISHING AND COOLING CUHVED STEREOTYPE PLATES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.3. I9I0.

TL ,QUYfiQQ. Patented Dec. 1916.

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marten snares Parents o tion.

HERBERT PEARCE, OF BEOADHEATH, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR, BY IVIESNEASSIGNMENTS,

'I'O WOOD NEWSPAPER MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. 1., A CORPO-RATION 0F VIRGINIA.

MACHINE FOB, FINISHING AND COOLING CURVE!) STEREOTYPE-PLATES.

Application filed August 3, 1910.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERBERT PEARCE, a subject of the King of GreatBritain, residing at Broadheath, in the county of Chester, England, haveinvented a new and useful Machine for Finishing and Cooling CurvedStereotype-Plates, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in means for finishing andcooling curved stereotypes.

It may be said to consist in means for enabling the runway rollers toadapt themselves so that they can present a fair bearing surface to theentire width of the respective side edge of the stereotype whether thesaid edge be radial or not radial to the axis of the stereotype; and inmeans for limiting the rebound of the stereotype when the movement ofthe latter through the shaving arch, is arrested by the respective sto Iii the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation showing onearrangement of the improved runway roller which latter is represented invertical section; Fig. 2 is a side elevation and Fig. 3 an end elevationshowing means for limiting the rebound of the stereotype; and Fig. 4 isa view similar to Fig. 1 showing a modification.

One type of runway down which a stereotype slides, consists of twoparallel series of rollers over which the side edges of the stereotypeslide. Usually, as many of the rollers as are within the shaving arch,are mounted, half of them upon a stereotype support on one side, and theother half upon a stereotype clamp upon the other side. The side edgesof the stereotype may be either radial to the axis of the latter or theymay be sloped to engage under the undercut sides of the holding stripsby which they will afterward be secured to the printing machinecylinder. In any case, the peripheries of the rollers should be parallelwith the side edges of the stereotype passing over them, andconsequently, if the said rollers be of a shape suitable for supportingstereotypes with radial edges they are unsuitable for supporting thosewith non-radial edges,

.and vice versa.

According to the present invention, the

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 5, 1916.

Serial No. 575,304.

peripheries of the rollers may be either conical or cylindrical the saidrollers being arranged so that whatever their shape in that respect,they will, under the weight of the stereotypes, adapt their position tosuit the planes of the respective stereotype edges. For this purpose, asshown in Fig. 1, each of the rollers 1 has a cylindrical bore 2, andeach of the axles 3 is of conical or barreled form, the cooperation ofthese two features admitting of the roller assuming different positionson the axle 3, varying from that in which it is shown in full lines, inwhich it is co-axial with the axle, to that in which its axis is at anangle to the axis of the axle 3. It will be seen therefore that thebores 0f the rollers fit their respective axles near the outer ends, butthere is a clearance at both ends gradually growing less toward thepoint at which they fit. The stereotype plate rests on the rollers inthe usual way and as the roller is capable of tilting about the point atwhich the inner surface of its bore engages the axle, it will take theposition shown in Fig. 1, if the bevel on the edge of the plate conformswith the bevel of the surface on which it rests. In other words, this isthe horizontal position. If the bevel on the plate does not conform withthe angle of this surface the roller will tilt to a slightly differentposition, forward or backward on the axle.

The axle 3 is secured in any desired manner to its bracket 4, whichconstitutes no part of the present invention, and the end of the boss 5of the roller 1, at the end adjacent to such bracket, is of curved orpartly spherical form so as to enable the roller to rock as aforesaidwhile, at the same time, conjointly with a head or disk 6, preventing itfrom moving axially on the axle 3. The head 6 is secured to the axle 3by means of a screw 7 and pin 8.

The outer sides of all the rollers 1 of both series, are shrouded, as bythe flanges 9, in a particular way, this way depending upon the factthat stereotypes P as they come from the foundry, diifer from each othera little in width. The shroudings of the two series of rollers, are,therefore, far enough from each other to let the widest stereotypespass, and near enough to prevent as much encounters at the deliveryendof the shav 7 cause at about the moment that the stereoing arch. Thisrebound is mischievous betype strikes the said stop, the stereotype is 7first, seized by the springers on the support with the strike.

, and clamp above mentioned, then raised into the shaving arch and.clamped there Qand then shaved and trimmed. If the springers seized itat the moment it struck the stop, there would be no rebound, but as therate at which the stereotype slides'down the runway, may, and probablywill, now and then be aocidentallyimpeded, e. 9., by

' bits of metal in the runway or irregularities on the stereotype edges,it is'impossible to arrange for theseizure to be simultaneous Now it isessential that a stereotype should be up to the stop during thefinishing operation. The present invention provides for this, byreducing the rebound above 'mentioned to a safe limit.

Thisreduction is effected by a stop on the entrance end of the shavingarchlO, preferably mounted on the crown of the latter,

. and adapted todrop' in the rear of the end it 11 is provided with tworollers 17, 18 of spring 16.

'of' the stereotype at only a short distance from it. The,arrangementmay take the formrepresented in Figs. 2 and 3, in'which 11, 12 is a twoarmed lever, of which, the

'arm 11 constitutes the stop proper, and the arm 12 serves to arrest thestop against rearward .movementunder the rebound of the stereotype 13.The lever 11, 12 ispivoted by a pivot pin lt to a bracket 15 fixed tothe shaving arch 10, up to which the end of the 'arm 12 is normally heldby a tension CThe underside of the lever arm or stop .wood, leather, orother material which will not damage the type face of the stereotype 13as the latter is moved beneath them.

' When the stereotype is just about to enter the shaving archlO, itsleading end contacts with the roller l'l and thereby turns the lever 11,12 on its, pivot 14, and afterward either one or both of the two rollers17, 18

bear on the surface of the stereotype as it i V continues its passagebeneath them. Im-.

'mediately afterthe rear'or following end of the stereotype haspassed'the roller 17 the spring 16 depresses the arm 11 so that its 1endis at. a short distance away from the gstereotype'to restrict thereboundof the latter to thedesired safe limit.

I Thebefore, described apparatus is capable 5 ofbeing modified withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention, for instance, instead of thearrangement shown in Fig. 1 wherein the bore 2 is cylindrical and theaxle 3 is conical, the practical reverse of this arrangement can obtain,that is to say the axle 3 can be cylindrical and the bore 2 be conicalas shown in Fig. 4.

While I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of theinvention I am aware that many other modifications can be made thereinby any person skilled in the art without departing from the scope of theinvention as expressed in the claims. Therefore I do not wish to belimited to all the details of 7 construction herein shown and described,but

What I do claim is 1. A stereotype supporting roller and axle forguiding a stereotype printing plate constructed so that the roller canvary its position on the axle, so that its axis can be either co-axialwith or at an angle to that of the axle.

on the axle.

3. A runway for stereotype plates having rollers for supporting theedges of the plates and axles for the rollers, the rollers each havingan interior bore fitting its respective axle at a point near the outerend thereof but provided with a gradually increasing clearance from thatpoint to the inner end.

4:. In a stereotype plate runway, the combination with a bracket and aheaded axle thereon, of a roller on the axle loosely fitting between thebracket and head so as to be immovable as a whole, axially, and having aflange at the outer end and a boss extending from the flange to theinner end of the roller, said roller being rockable longitudinally onthe axle.

. 5. In a stereotype plate finishing machine. the combination with ashaving arch, of a lever pivoted to the arch in a position for one endto engage the plate as the plate enters the arch, and yielding means forholding the lever in engagement with the plate, said lever having an armfor engaging the arch and positively limiting the motion of the lever inone direction.

6. In a stereotype plate finishing machine, the combination with ashaving arch, of a spring-pressed lever at the entrance end of the archhaving an arm projecting towhen the lever moves beyond the plate afterthe plate enters the arch, whereby said lever Will receive and check therebound of the In testimony whereof I have hereunto set plate. I myhand, in the presence of two subscribing 7. In a stereotype platefinishing ma- Witnesses. chine, the combination With the shaving HERBERTPEARCE. 5 arch, of an automatic device for limiting the Witnesses:

rebound of the stereotype after the latter THOMAS ROBERT GlLMiTTEPARKER, has come into the arch. JOHN ERNEST BILLINGTON.

Unmet of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patenta, Washington, D. 0."

